“Mourning Becomes Electra” – By Eugene O’Neill

“Morning Becomes Electra” is a play cycle written by American Playwright Eugene O’Neill in 1922. The story of this play is a retelling of the Oresteia by Aeschylus of Greek tragedies. This play is sbout modern Mannon family and it’s divided into three plays. This play is connected with “Freudian” perspecrive of psychological theory. 

The title refer to how the lead character is condmned to a life mourning the disasters that befall her family.And meaning of the title is to the expression of sorrow for someone’s death, grief. Lament.

This play set in post – civil war period just as Ezra and Orin return from fighting. The mannon family are well known in new England for their wealth and power. And in this play unfortunately, hate between family members causes conflict.

This play views Man on family of new England. Ezra-manonn has participate in the civil war and the mother Christine and daughter Lavinia. She has visited Newyork where her mother is supposed to go on the pretext of her father’s illness but she has been meeting Adam Brant. Shre informed her brother Orin about her mother.Orin was in love with Hazel and peter was Peter was in love with Lavinia. Adam Brant’s mother has been ill-treted and he would like to be avenged on the Manon family.Ezra Manon is sick and in place of medicine Christine poised him. The difference between mother and daughter increases.

Lavinia gives minute details regarding Christine in the room where her father’s dead body has lying. Lavinia and Orin follow Christine to ship in which she has gone warn Brant against Orin shots Brant. The next day Christine committed sucide.

Orin and Lavinia are back after visiting from South East. Lavinia wanted Orin to marry Hazel but her wish could not be fulfilled. She herself wanted to marry Peter but this wise of here remained unfulfilled. Orin shoots himself. She decided to share the fate of other Mannon and she orders the curtains on the window to be drawn to exclude the sunlight. She decides to remain in her house till her death. Lavinia exemplifies the title by turning herself into a vessel of mourning at the end. Also, the idea of mourning becomes the Mannon family because they are not fated to be happy. By working so incredibly hard to keep the annon image alive, lavinia dooms the family to a life of punishment. When she forces an exceptional mask upon her brother, his guilt just increases.